Venus Global Geography

This is a map of the surface of Venus (turned sideways!). As can be seen on the map, there is no ocean, but there are highlands and lowlands. Lowlands in the map can be thought of as like the ocean bottom, and highlands can be thought of as like continental regions.

As can be seen in the image, besides the lowlands, the surface of Venus consists of 2 large continents with mountain ranges, and a few large islands. There is also extensive cratering, mixed with evidence of flowing liquid.

There does not seem to be much evidence of continental drift as is seen on Earth. Even so, the surface of Venus is very unusual and shows many of the features of a surface in motion.

You might also be interested in:

What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences?...more

The four main mountain ranges of Venus are named Maxwell Montes, Frejya Montes, Akna Montes, and Danu Montes. These are found on Ishtar Terra. Mountain ranges are formed by the folding and buckling of...more

This is an example of the craters of Venus. Venus seems to have about 900 craters, which is about the same number of craters found on the surface of the Earth. Since we know that the Earth has an active...more

This image clearly shows a bed where something once flowed. Without proper measurements, scientists can only guess what sort of liquid may have flowed through this channel. On Earth, such channels might...more

Like Mars, there is no continental drift on the surface of Venus. The surface of Venus does not *seem* to have changed or moved in billions of years. Nevertheless, there are a few signs which suggest that...more

Look at this picture of the surface of the Earth! Can you find these features? the Pacific Ocean floor continents volcanoes mountain ranges volcanic islands faults (Click on the image to see labeled examples...more

The surface of Mars can be broken into two parts, the highlands and lowlands. The highlands are in the southern hemisphere (the bottom of the picture). The lowlands are in the northern hemisphere of Mars...more